I'm still pondering the second battery location. There are pros and cons wherever I look.
Currently the front of the car is ~100lbs heavier than it was before. The center of gravity of the weight in the front is only slightly ahead of the front wheels, which I am content with. It's also more off to the passenger side, so it should offset the weight of the driver, ending up with pretty good weight distribution...except for the particularly light back end at the moment.
I basically have 3 locations I can put the second battery pack:
1. Over the radiator support/right in front of the motor.
2. Where the gas tank was.
3. In the spare tire well.
Pros & Cons:
1. Rad support, Pros: All batteries in one location; short power cables; easy access. Cons: Weight even farther forwards; batteries blocking motor and taking up space where I might want to put add-ons.
2. Gas tank, Pros: Best weight distribution possible. Cons: Damned difficult to get at batteries, or else have to cut floor pan for easy access; Long power cables.
3. Spare tire well, Pros: Very easy access, perfect dimensions for pack. Cons: Very long power cables; weight is past rear wheels; batteries are now inside passenger cabin.
Then there's the added complication of the idea of carrying around the 6x 12-volt, 30amp-hour lead acid batteries I have as "backup" power and or as auxiliary power for the heater and such. They need roughly the same space as the second pack and weigh just as much. If I use them regularly, they'd probably be worth carrying. If not, they're just dead weight and taking up room.
So. If I wanted them in, I could put them in place of the gas tank, and the second/real battery pack over the rad support. They're less fussy, so I don't need to monitor them much compared to the LiFePO4s, so not being able to get at them is no real big deal. I still lose out on the useful space in front of the motor though. Which I'm not even sure if I'll put to use any other way.
Or the real pack goes in where the gas tank was, and the lead goes in to the spare tire well, where it can be easily removed if not being used. Same goes with the lead going in the rad support area. Weight too far forwards or too far back. At least they're removable there. That might be important. Or not if she performs well.
Maybe I need to experiment a whole lot more before settling on what I do or don't need. I'd be out doing it right now, but I'm stuck at the inlaws for xmas with nothing better to do than to over-think things.
I need to seriously figure out how to go about cutting the floor pan under the rear seat and making it work if I am going to go that route. I don't mind, really; that's why I started with a cheap/rough condition Firefly. I don't feel bad chopping it up to make things work.
Time to stare at EVMetro's photobucket for a while.
Nothing there to clue me in. Hmm. Maybe if I cut just the hump between the rear seats open, it would give me "easy" access without doing anything drastic...